Good news for the men and there have been rumblings from Nigel Melville that some games at the Women’s Rugby World Cup could televised as well.

from USA Rugby:

Networks Partner with International Rugby Board for Rights to Rugby World Cup in 2011 and 2015

All World Cup Matches to Air across Universal Sports’ Media Platforms

NEW YORK CITY — June 17, 2010 – Universal Sports Network, NBC Sports, and the International Rugby Board (IRB) today announced a partnership that will bring to U.S. audiences unprecedented national television and digital media coverage of the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup tournaments.

The announcement was made by Universal Sports CEO David Sternberg and Mike Miller, CEO and Secretary General, International Rugby Board. The official launch was supported by USA Rugby CEO Nigel Melville and the local New York rugby community in the build-up to the Churchill Cup finals set for Saturday, June 19 at Red Bull Arena.

“This is a huge step in the right direction for USA Rugby,” Melville said. “A major broadcast partner will create a number of new opportunities for the sport, raising rugby’s profile in America, as well as allowing supporters to follow the Eagles on their road to the 2011 Rugby World Cup.”

Universal Sports, the preeminent destination for Olympic-related sports programming, and NBC Sports will provide full, multi-platform coverage of all 48 matches during the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand and the 2015 World Cup in England. Two matches in each tournament, including the Finals in 2011 and 2015, will air either live or on a same-day delay on NBC Sports. Live and delayed match video will also be accessible at www.universalsports.com, and on Universal Sports’ mobile platforms. Universal Sports’ and NBC Sports’ match coverage will feature a studio pre-game show, halftime and post-game shows, as well as several other production enhancements, and will be offered in high definition.

“This is a very significant rights acquisition for Universal Sports, especially given the growing popularity of rugby around the world and in America,” said Sternberg. “We are delighted to be partnering with the IRB for the Rugby World Cup and other top events, and we look forward to showcasing global rugby, at its highest level, for our audiences across all of our platforms—television, online and mobile.”

“Today’s announcement represents a significant milestone in the development of Rugby in the United States,” said Miller. “NBC and Universal Sports are globally renowned for quality broadcast delivery of major sports events in the United States and their considerable experience and passion for sport will deliver the widespread platform for Rugby World Cup to truly capture the hearts and minds of American sports fans.”

The Rugby World Cup is one of the largest and most avidly watched sporting events in the world, drawing an estimated 4.2 billion viewers worldwide during the last championship in France in 2007. The competition next year begins on September 9, 2011, when host New Zealand meets Tonga in Auckland. The tournament field consists of 20 different nations, likely including the United States, who will compete over the course of a month for the coveted Webb Ellis Cup. New Zealand and Australia jointly hosted the first edition of the Rugby World Cup in 1987 while South Africa is the defending champion from 2007.

The agreement extends Universal Sports’ focus on rugby, which will debut at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Since the beginning of June, the network has really built up their rugby coverage. They have teamed up with USA Rugby and televised the U.S. College Sevens Invitational and the six-country Churchill Cup tournament. The final two matches of the Churchill Cup, featuring both the U.S. national team and the England Saxons, will air live from Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, this Saturday, June 19 beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.

ABOUT UNIVERSAL SPORTS: Universal Sports, a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, LP, serves as the preeminent multiplatform destination for Olympic-related sports programming on television and online. Universal Sports is available in more than 63 million homes, including all of the nation’s top 10 DMAs: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas-Fort Worth and Washington, D.C. Recent expansion includes launches in Boston, Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Denver, Portland, and Jacksonville. Go to UniversalSports.com for a complete list of TV markets. Major world championship and Olympic qualifying events found on Universal Sports range from track and field, skiing, swimming, gymnastics, marathons and cycling, to volleyball, rowing, triathlon, fencing, speed skating and martial arts. UniversalSports.com delivers an immersive experience via live and on-demand competition coverage, interaction with top athletes through blogs and in-depth access to Olympic sports news and information year round. For more information on the availability of the Universal Sports 24-hour television channel, please visit UniversalSports.com.

ABOUT IRB & RUGBY WORLD CUP: Rugby World Cup is the world’s third largest single sports event and the 2011 tournament in New Zealand will be broadcast to a potential audience of over 4 billion in 200 countries. All tournament surpluses generated by commercial revenues underwrite a range of major funding initiatives aimed at increasing global growth and stimulating participation. In total the IRB will invest over £153 million during the period 2009-2012.

ABOUT USA RUGBY: USA RUGBY, founded in 1975, is the national governing body for rugby and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the International Rugby Board (IRB). The organization is responsible for the development of boys, girls, high school, collegiate and club rugby programs, as well as the nation’s rugby coaches, referees, administrators and all of its national teams that represent the U.S. in international competitions. As part of this development, USA Rugby hosts a number of courses, clinics, National Championship events and international matches throughout the year. For more information, please visit www.usarugby.org.

CONTACT INFO:

Universal Sports
Kevin Endsley
kendsley@universalsports.com
818-661-4188

Greg Hughes
Ghughes5425@gmail.com

NBC Sports
Adam Freifeld
Adam.freifeld@nbcuni.com

IRB
Dominic Rumbles
Dominic.Rumbles@irb.com

USA Rugby
Sara Wright
swright@usarugby.org

This is a great instructional rucking video from Dan Payne that was sent to me by Paul Simko. Dan reviews several issues that teams run in to including various rucking techniques and ways to combat them. Great video!

To view more YSC videos hover over the heading ‘Videos’ on the navigation bar up top and choose Rugby Video Monday.

Please continue sending in your videos and I will keep posting them! Send them to wendy@scrumhalfconnection.com.

from International Rugby Suite by Sione A Mokofisi:

They fell off the top of women’s Rugby World Rankings; the U.S. Women Eagles national team can regain their former glory by kicking butts again.

How will the U.S. Women Eagles Rugby National Team reclaim their former world superiority in this summer’s World Cup 2010 being held in England?

The USA Rugby national office (Boulder, CO) should have better strategies to reverse the Women Eagles last two dismal showings in 2002 and 2006. Their so-called “high-performance goals” for the England campaign this summer are not convincing enough:

• Placed in the top four at the 2010 WRC.
• Placed as finalists at the 2014 WRC.

They should be expected to win the next two World Cups. Self-fulfilling prophecies are usually the best motivation tools with high-calibre championship teams like the U.S. Women Eagles. When expectations are raised to higher levels of expected performance, great teams have achieved great feats. If they go in expected to do mediocre performance, they will be awed by their opponents as the superior competitor.

U.S. Women Eagles’ History of World Dominance
Their superior performance in the inaugural Rugby World Cup 1991 looked as if the Americans were teaching the rest of the world a sport “Made in USA.” They went 4-0, and nearly shutting out all their opponents, 79-6, combined (Rugby Magazine, 2004) except England:

USA-7, defeated Netherlands-0.
USA-46, defeated USSR-0.
USA-7, defeated New Zealand-0.
USA-19, defeated England-6.
These Yankees continued their international prowess on the rugby “pitch” to include WC 1994 and 1998′s title matches. But the two title-game heart-broken losses may have had demoralizing effects on the entire American women’s rugby program. The evidence showed in WC 1998. It began a 12-year decline manifested in the 7th and 5th place finishes in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, respectively (Rugby World Cup Womens database, 2010):

1994 – England – 38, defeated USA – 23.
1998 – New Zealand – 46, defeated USA – 12.
2002 – (7th place) USA-23, defeated Spain-0.
2006 – (5th place) USA-24, defeated Scotland-0.

U.S. Women’s Rugby Declining Years
It was apparent other nations’ women’s programs improved each year while the U.S. was declining. New Zealand, for example. Losses in 1991 and 1994 made them stronger. Meanwhile, the Americans’ game may have grown stagnant, and predictable. It took heavyweights like England four years, and New Zealand eight years to figure out how to defeat the Yankees. Other rugby heavyweights like Australia, France, and South Africa in the men’s game have joined the ranks of bullies who are beating up on the Americans in the women’s game.

Perhaps those weak opponents in the early years contributed to the Americans’ losing their dominant strengths. For example in 1994: Beating Sweden, 111-0; Japan, 121-0; Ireland, 76-0; and Wales 56-15. Those cake-walks may have caused complacency and lack of respect for their opponents. England avenged their 1991 loss by winning, 38-23, in the 1994 championship match.

Conclusion: USA Rugby Takes Women’s Program for Granted

The USA Rugby Boulder office rationalized that the decline was due to, “…other rugby powerhouses that have made a commitment to support the women’s game.”

Is this verification that the U.S. Women Eagles were totally neglected? Did USA Rugby fail to increase funding and training to keep the ladies at their 1991, 1994, and 1998 successes level? Perhaps USA Rugby took the women’s program early successes for granted while concentrating most of its efforts on the men’s program?

Apparently, USA Rugby gambled and lost: The Men Eagles are still a Tier 3 international side while the Women Eagles’ – despite their disappointing showing in 2002 and 2006 – are still a Tier #1 squad feared by their opponents. To succeed in this summer World Cup 2010, the Americans must rediscover their early mojos from the early 1990s.

They must be prepared to pull themselves out of their 12-year hibernation, and play like angry, and hungry bears. They must play like angry champions who have been cooped up in training camp for too long, and kick some butts!

Women’s Rugby World Cup 2010: August 16 – September 6.
Hosted by Surrey Sports Park, Surrey University, England.

USA Women Eagles Pool Matches:
August 20, USA vs. Kazakhstan
August 24, USA vs. Ireland
August 28, USA vs. England.

REFERENCES
Ed F. Hagerty, “2004 Directory-Yearbook,” (April, 2004). Rugby Magazine, Vol. 30. No. 3. New York City, NY: The Rugby Press.

Rugby World Cup Womens database retrieved July 12, 2010. http://www.rwcwomens.com/history/index.html.

USA Rugby, “National Teams.” Retrieved July 11, 2010, from USA Rugby database http://www.usarugby.org.

The USA Women Eagles are busy training and preparing for the 2010 Rugby World Cup. However, they have made a few very cute videos that give us a peek into what it takes to be an Eagle. Make sure to check them out at http://www.wewantrugby.com/!

In the USA it’s tough being an international player. The demands on each player are increasing every year, the time commitment makes living a normal life challenging, but these young women are prepared to do anything that is asked of them to represent their country on the world stage.

We are currently trying to raise funds to support their journey. These funds are not to pay for salaries and luxuries, they are for the basic essentials that will enable the team to perform the best they can in August.

Every single dollar raised will go to the women’s team, every single donation is welcome and truly appreciated, you can make your donation by visiting: http://www.wewantrugby.com/donate.html.

BOULDER, Colo. – The USA Women’s National Rugby Team has officially announced the roster of 26 players and four reserves who are set to assemble in the weeks leading up to the 2010 Women’s Rugby World Cup (WRWC) in England.

“It is never an easy task to trim down a squad we have been working with for almost four years,” said Women’s National Rugby Team Coach Kathy Flores. “With the 2010 World Cup less than two months away, we are working to prepare for every variable possible and select according to the needs of the team, in regards to the commitment and dedication of each individual and their contribution to the squad.”

Assembling on July 10, the USA squad will hold a residency camp at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine for three weeks before departing for England.

“The U.S. Women will feel right at home in the college’s top-notch residential and athletic facilities,” Women’s High Performance Manager, Alex Williams said. “Bowdoin is home to one of the few women’s varsity rugby programs in the country and it’s a great environment for the intense final preparations prior to the World Cup.”

The residency camp will include a lot of individual and unit skill work, along with strength and conditioning sessions, video analysis, and creating game plans for its upcoming RWC pool matches. Brought into the camp will be additional skill specialists, sports psychologists, nutritionists and select media personnel who will all work with the players and staff in preparation for the team’s biggest event of the quadrennial.

The National Team’s time at Bowdoin College won’t be all work and no play, however. On July 12, the USA Women’s Team will host an Under-19 rugby clinic for new and upcoming Under-19 female players and then on July 25, the Women’s National Team will play the Northeast Rugby Union All-Star Women’s Team in a final Women’s Rugby World Cup warm-up match for the Eagles.

The U.S. will also have one week of preparation and acclimatization once landing in England, prior to the kick-off of the 2010 Women’s Rugby World Cup.

The 2010 Women’s Rugby World Cup features the top 12 teams from around the world. The teams are sorted into three pools and will play pool opponents on three match days through August. The fifth-ranked USA Women’s Team is in Pool B along with second-seeded England, Ireland and Kazakhstan.

The USA will face the 11th-ranked Kazakhstan, first, on Friday, August 20. Four days later, the USA will play the eighth-seed, Ireland side, on August 24 and will finish against England on August 28.

“We don’t have the luxury to look past any team at the Women’s Rugby World Cup,” Flores added. “While we were playing Canada in June, Kazakhstan played close matches with South Africa. Ireland is lining up practice competition in the coming month and I am sure England will be training and lining up practice matches as well. No team is taking anything for granted in this event.”

The U.S. Women’s Rugby World Cup Team includes:
Forwards
Sharon Blaney (Beantown)
Stacey Bridges (Texas A&M)
Jamie Burke (Beantown)
Lisa Butts (Berkeley All-Blues)
Melanie Denham (Beantown)
Farrah Douglas (Keystone)
Blair Groefsema (Berkeley All-Blues)
Phaidra Knight (New York)
Jillion Potter (Minnesota Valkyries)
Beckett Royce (Oregon Sports Union)
Lara Vivolo (New York)
Kittery Wagner (Beantown)
Maurin Wallace (Beantown)
Kristin Zdanczewicz (Minnesota Valkyries)

Backs
Claudia Braymer (Albany)
Emilie Bydwell (Beantown)
Amy Daniels (Beantown)
Ashley English (Berkeley All-Blues)
Victoria Folayan (Berkeley All-Blues)
Melissa Kanuk (Minnesota Valkyries)
Ashley Kmiecik (Oregon Sports Union)
Lynelle Kugler (Twin Cities Amazons)
Kim Magrini (Keystone)
Nathalie Marchino (Berkeley All-Blues)
Vanesha McGee (New York)
Christy Ringgenberg (Minnesota Valkyries)

Reserves
Stephanie Bruce (Berkeley All-Blues)
Kate Daley (Keystone)
Naima Reddick (Berkeley All-Blues)
Hannah Stolba (Minnesota Valkyries)

For more information on the Women’s National Team, please visit www.usarugby.org/goto/women_eagles. To follow the WNT on the road to the Women’s Rugby World Cup or for the chance to sponsor a day of residency for the U.S. Women’s Rugby Team visit www.weWaNTrugby.com. Also, don’t forget to check out the Women’s Rugby World Cup website at www.rwcwomens.com.

About Bowdoin
Bowdoin is an independent, nonsectarian, coeducational residential, undergraduate liberal arts institution founded in 1794. It is located in Brunswick, Maine, a town of 21,000 on the Maine coast. Study at Bowdoin leads to a bachelor of arts degree in one of over 40 departmental and interdisciplinary majors. Bowdoin enrolls approximately 1,750 students from across the country and around the world. For more information, please visit www.bowdoin.edu.